British comedy – Page 3 – Cottage Capers

On this day in history….6th March 1917

On this day in history : 6th March 1917 – The birth of Francis Alick Howard – who was better known to us as comedian and comic actor Frankie Howerd….

The son of a soldier, Howerd was born in York – and was educated at Shooter’s Hill Grammar School, London…. His first stage appearance was at the age of 13…. However, after failing to get into RADA a career in serious acting was not to be…. It was whilst serving in the army during WWII that he began to entertain….and it was also at this time that he changed his name to Howerd – apparently ‘just to be different’….

He began his professional entertainment career in 1946, in the touring show ‘For the Fun of It’…. He made his radio debut in December of the same year and his first screen role was in the film ‘The Runaway Bus’ in 1954, in which he starred opposite Petula Clark….

Portrait by Allan Warren 1978 – CC BY-SA 3.0

With a mixture of jokes, impressions, comical songs and monologues Howerd hosted his own series of TV shows in the 1950s…. Known for his risqué double entendres he came across as a larger than life figure – however, this couldn’t be further from the truth in reality….

Howerd suffered from acute stage fright – (his close friend Cilla Black once said of him – ‘that it made him physically ill’)…. He was a painfully shy man, lacking in self confidence and prone to severe depression…. He was also terrified of his sexuality becoming common knowledge…. At a time when homosexuality between men was illegal (until 1967 in England and Wales and 1981 in Scotland) it would have ruined his career….

He met his partner, Dennis Heymer – 12 years his junior – in 1958. Heymer also became his manager and helped him to revive his flagging career during the 1960s…. The couple were together for over 30 years – until Howerd’s death on the 19th of April 1992, after suffering heart failure due to a respiratory illness…. Always their relationship remained discreet outside of their immediate circle…. Howerd is buried at St. Gregory’s Church, Weare, Somerset – Heymer, who died in May 2009, is buried close by….

Frankie Howerd Blue Plaque, York – Image credit: Peter Hughes via Flickr

On this day in history….22nd December 1909

On this day in history : 22nd December 1909 – The birth of BAFTA award winning actress Patricia Hayes – who appeared in so many much loved radio and television comedy shows….

Patricia was born in Streatham, London…. Her father, George Frederick Hayes, was a civil service clerk and her mother, Florence Alice, was a school teacher…. After attending school in Hammersmith Patricia joined the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the age of 18 – having already made her stage debut when she was just 12 years old…. After her training she was to spend the next ten years in the repertory theatre….

She married actor Valentine Brooke in 1939 and they were to have three children, two daughters and a son, the actor Richard O’Callaghan…. Patricia and her husband were to divorce in 1951, she never remarried….

During the 1940s she appeared in numerous films, including Went the Day Well? in 1942 and Nicholas Nickleby in 1947 – but during the 1950s it was radio and TV comedy that she was to become well-known for…. Her work included Hancock’s Half Hour, The Benny Hill Show, The Arthur Askey Show and Till Death Us Do Part…. She was frequently cast in the roles of Cockney characters…. She would still occasionally undertake film work, appearing in films such as The Bargee in 1964, The NeverEnding Story in 1984, A Fish Called Wanda in 1988 and Willow in 1988….

Theatrical release poster for The NeverEnding Story

But it was in 1971 that Patricia took on a very different role to her usual comedy characters, when she stared in Jeremy Sandford’s Play for Today Edna, the Inebriate Woman…. Her powerful portrayal of the drunk and troubled Edna won her a BAFTA…. After this it would have been easy to alter the path of her career to follow a route of more serious roles – but Patricia chose to return to the comedy she did so well….

She was awarded with an OBE in 1987…. She continued acting well into the 1990s with appearances in ITV’s The Bill and the BBC’s Lovejoy…. Patricia died on the 19th of September 1998 in the Surrey village of Puttenham and is buried in Watts Cemetery, Compton…. Her last film Crime and Punishment was released posthumously in 2002….